Mission of troops rushed to the US-Mexico border is 'to be determined,' Mattis tells them
WASHINGTON - When a young soldier in Texas asked Defense Secretary James N. Mattis on Wednesday whether his unit would soon be ordered to remove the razor wire and vehicle barriers they had installed at Mexico border crossings, Mattis couldn't answer.
"Good question. We'll let you know," Mattis replied, according to video of the encounter. "Right now, the mission is put them in."
Asked by another soldier to explain the goals of the border deployment, Mattis said, "Short term, get the obstacles in. Longer term ... it is somewhat to be determined."
The exchanges, during a visit by Mattis and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen
